12 '90s Hard Rock Albums Everyone Should Own

Released barely six months before Kurt Cobain’s suicide, In Utero can be a hard listen. From the anguished screams of the band’s frontman, as well as the hopelessness that pervades the entirety of the record, in retrospect it’s altogether too clear that something wasn’t right with grunge’s posterboy.

Entirely unprepared for the fame that came with Nevermind’s immense success, Nirvana shod much of the pop sheen for their third record. Recruiting Steve Albini to produce, the band set out to make an album far more combative and varied than its predecessor, and they certainly succeeded with that.

There are pretty songs like “All Apologies” and hits like “Pennyroyal Tea”, but elsewhere you can hear the band unravel. “Milk It” is Nirvana at their most stark, and “Rape Me” is a blunt but effective examination of Cobain’s treatment by the business.

The album was seen as a let down by those who wanted another Teen Spirit, but time has been kind to Nirvana’s swansong. As they ascended they wanted more than anything to retain their authenticity, and In Utero captures that essence perfectly.